Rise of Our Clans: Book 1: Parting Gift

7

  Three days had passed since Starry Night nearly drowned, since her breathing had been kind of ragged and she couldn't handle long bouts of activity. Mossy Oak kept the group in one place while Starry Night was recovering, but he was determined to get going soon.
  Valley River hunted near the place with the loud monstrous creatures. They ran along a black stone path, making noises like thunder. She kept her distance, but she could still hear the growl of the monsters.
  She saw a strange looking leafless bush of silver vines. Inside was a flat stone with some kind of meat slathered on it. Valley River thought it smelled delicious. She saw no reason to not go in and eat it. So she did. But when she tried to back out, something was triggered and the vines snapped the only opening close.
  Valley River let out a loud yowl and thrashed around, trying to get free. "Mossy Oak! Help!" She screeched. I can't be trapped here, not when I'm expecting kits!
  Her and Mossy Oak told the group yesterday, when it became noticable that Valley River was putting on weight, and now she thought of nothing but trying to protect them. "I'm coming Valley River!" She heard Mossy Oak call. But a large creature stepped out of the bushes. It stood on two legs, it's legs were blue and it's torso and arms were gray. It had no fur except for a little patch on it's head.
  She thrashed more as it picked up the bush trap she was in. "Help!" She howled again. She caught a glimpse of Mossy Oak's fur, and made brief eye contact with his fearful green eyes. The two legged creature carried her to a monster resting on the side of the black stone path.
  Its side opened up and the creature climbed in, placing Valley River on the ledge next to where it sat. The side snapped shut and the monster roared to life.
  This is it. I'm going to be digested by this monster. But instead of being eaten, the monster started running. She could feel the rumble of it moving, and looked up, she could see outside of it through certain areas. Valley River gave up, there was no way she was getting out of this bush without help, and even if she got out of the bush, she couldn't get out of the monster. She growled at every bump in the path.
  The creature picked up a small stone like thing and began chattering into it. Valley River was inclined to believe he was crazy, but she could hear another voice from inside. Was there a really small two legged creature stuck inside? While the monster ran, Valley River tried to memorize all the twists and turns of the path so that if she escaped from wherever she was being taken, she could find her way back to Mossy Oak.
  The monster drew to a stop in front of what Valley River thought was a mountain. But it was too small, and its sides were too straight. The twoleg, Valley River had started calling it in her mind since it walked on two legs, picked up the thing Valley River was trapped in and walked towards the tiny mountain.
  It walked into a cave, Valley River thought it smelled awful like many different animals that Valley River couldn't name. It walked by several indents in the wall with a little silver knob on each of them. In one she could hear the loud barking like the bark of a wolf.
BThe twoleg stopped in front of one of these wall things and placed his hand on the knob. He then twisted it and the wall came open.
  Inside was an open area covered in short yellow grass, but it didn't smell anything like grass. Sprawled out on the ground was at least five cats. Valley River could sense the light above, and assumed there was a hole in the roof of the cave. Along the wall were holes, some with a cat or two, most of them were open, all had two hollow stones, she could smell something like prey and water in each of them, a soft pelt, and another stone filled with a sand like substance.
  A black and white tom looked at her with wide yellow eyes and pressed his black and brown paw pads against the vines holding him there.
  The twoleg put the edge of the bush trapping her in front of one of these holes, the one next to the black and white tom, the stones had good smelling pebbles and full of water. He then pulled some of the silvery vines up and Valley River immediately jumped into the hole, relishing the solid ground beneath her paws. They were so sore after being in that bush nearly all day.
  Valley River turned to try and escape, but the same silvery vines that the bush was made of swung and clattered into place in front of Valley River. They refused to budge, no matter how hard she tried. "That won't work, we have to escape another way!" The tom in the hole next to her meowed. She was sad she couldn't see him because of the solid wall next to her.
  "Oh will you quit all your yowling about freedom, Pants?" A light ginger tom on the yellow grass asked. "No, and my name isn't Pants!" The cat next to Valley River hissed. The other cat looked sadly at Valley River. "I'm so sorry you had to be put next to Pants. He's a rambunctious fellow they found on the outskirts of town and he will not shut up about the forest!" He glowered at Pants.
  "How many times do I have to say it? My name is Shard, not pants!" Valley River could imagine his hackles rising at this ginger tom. But he knew the forest! Maybe he would know how to return Valley River home? "The forest! I was captured there too!" Valley River meowed.
  The ginger tabby rolled his eyes. "You were not captured, you were rescued." He said bluntly. "But I wasn't in any danger, I was just hunting?" Valley River looked at this unusual cat who didn't seem to have a problem with being trapped here. Probably because he's not stuck in this hole like I am.
  "You were rescued from having to hunt and fight, you were rescued from sickness, you were rescued from being hit by a car, you were rescued. And a nice person will come and bring you to their house and love you as if you were their own kit." He said in such an adamant way that Valley River almost believed him. But she couldn't.
  "But I can't belong to whatever a person is! I have to go and be with my mate. I doubt these two legged things know what love is if they ripped me away from Mossy Oak." Valley River was aware of her voice cracking and eyes tearing up at the thought of never seeing Mossy Oak again.
  "Cupcake, not every cat wants to be a lazy useless kittypet." The cat next to her, Valley River wasn't sure if he was called Pants or Shard, said. "She'll grow to like it once they get the stink of wild things off of her." Cupcake promised before heading to share tongues with a brown tabby and a tortoiseshell.
  "Burn the stars, Cupcake is the most annoying cat in existence. Ignore what he says." The cat she couldn't see started talking once Cupcake was no longer paying attention. "My name is Shard, not Pants, what about you?" he asked. "I'm Valley River. What's a town? And a kittypet, and a person?" She pressed her head against the cool hard wall just to hear Shard better.
  "You must come from a far of place. A town is a collection of twoleg dens, like this one, although not all of them are filled with cats. A kittypet is a cat who for some reason decided they wanted to live with a twoleg, and a person is what some certain idiotic cats call twolegs." He explained.
  Just from the tone of his voice, Valley River was picturing his pale yellow eyes giving Cupcake a hateful look. Valley River took a moment to let this information sink in before speaking again. "I'm trying to get to the river that comes from the mountains, I was following with my friends when the twolegs caught me and put me here."
  The two cats talked until another different twoleg with brown skin came in and chattered something. Some of the cats began meowing "Lights out," when she chattered it and went back to their holes, or cages as Shard called them. Valley River didn't like the word cage, it felt restricting and cold and evil.
  Once all the cats were in their cages, the twoleg left and the light from above went out. How it went from the middle of the day to night so quick was strange to Valley River. While of course she was aware of her getting more tired and the passage of time, despite it seemingly having been sunhigh the whole day until "lights out." She needed to get out of here as soon as possible.